The 2014 Trimble Dimensions Conference, hosted by Trimble and Loadrite, will include an aggregates track. After acquiring Loadrite, Trimble has increased its dedication to expanding productivity improvement within the Aggregates Industry.

Those participating in the aggregates track will have the opportunity to explore how technology can help improve operational performance and capture the information needed to optimize extraction, production and load-out times. The sessions, each of which will include a classroom presentation, are aimed at identifying how technology can help aggregate industry workers improve their performance, drive continuous improvement, reduce costs, increase revenue and boost customer satisfaction.

The conference, which takes place Nov. 3-5, will also include a speech from Mike Johnson, the president and CEO of NSSGA, as well as 400 sessions across multiple tracks and product demonstrations.

The Global Construction Aggregates Market report valued the U.S. at $106.4 billion in 2013. According to the report, Asia-Pacific was the largest regional market, accounting for 44.9 percent of the global market, followed by Europe with a 26.3 percent share and North America with a 20.3 percent share.

The report also notes that demand for infrastructure, residential, commercial and industrial construction in developing countries such as China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia is supporting the market’s expansion.

In 2013, the U.S. had the largest market in North American construction aggregates, with a 92.7 percent share, with Canada holding the remaining shares, says the report. China held the largest share of the Asia-Pacific market with a 70.1 percent share, while France accounted for the largest market share in Europe at 17.9 percent. In the Latin American construction aggregates market, Mexico held the largest share at 44.3 percent, and in the Middle Eastern market, which was the smallest regional market in 2013, the UAE was the largest market with a share of 41.6 percent.

In 2018, the market shares in Europe, North America and Latin America are expected to decline from 2013, with Europe reaching 25.5 percent, North America reaching 18.3 percent and Latin America reaching 5.3 percent, says the report. However, shares in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East are expected to increase by 2018.

Cuban-American artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada’s “Facescape” is located between the WWII and Lincoln Memorials in Washington, D.C.
Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Cuban-American artist Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada’s “Facescape,” located between the WWII and Lincoln Memorials in Washington, D.C., is the largest gravel, sand and soil portrait ever commissioned by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

Created on a 6-acre stretch of land, the portrait, called “Out of Many, One,” is a composite of more than one hundred people photographed in D.C.

“’Out of Many, One’ highlights the important role that stone, sand and gravel has in our country, says Mike Johnson, president and CEO of NSSGA. “Just as sand and gravel are essential to this portrait, aggregates are literally the foundation of our economy and society.”

NSSGA member Chaney Enterprises supplied the 2,000 tons of sand needed to complete the image. The portrait will be on view during October, and then will be tilled back into the ground when the viewing period ends.

Vulcan Materials has completed six acquisitions during the third quarter that will expand its presence in the United States, says an article on Yahoo Finance.

The most recent of these acquisitions include five aggregates facilities and associated downstream assets in Phoenix; Santa Fe and Albuquerque, N.M.; and an additional operation in Delaware.

These transactions followed Vulcan’s previous acquisitions of four aggregates facilities in the San Francisco Bay area. According to the article, through these acquisitions, the company has added more than 450 million tons of permitted aggregates reserves serving markets where these reserves are relatively scarce.

In addition to this, the transactions total to approximately $320 million of investments, says the article.

“We not only expect that these assets will generate attractive returns in their own right, but also that they will create significant synergies with our existing asset base.” says Tom Hill, president and CEO of Vulcan. “These acquisitions complement existing aggregates sources and distribution facilities in key growth markets in Arizona, California, Texas and Northern Virginia while also providing access to new markets in New Mexico.”

Learn about the latest quarry productivity technology at the Trimble Dimensions User Conference, featuring a new quarry and aggregates track. Join 3,500 attendees, 400 sessions, 23 machines, 20 exhibitors and one working quarry. Also featuring Trimble & LOADRITE expert advice and latest technology.

Highlights:

• See the latest product innovations at the Partner Pavilion
• Attend a wide range of technical education sessions from industry experts
• Network with your peers and aggregates producers during social events
• Get hands-on training at the conference center and at a working quarry
• Earn Professional Development Hours (PDH)

The conference is taking place from Nov. 3-5 in Las Vegas, Nev.

www.trimbledimensions.com

Last month, Pit & Quarry toured Keeney Sand & Stone in Painesville, Ohio. We talked to Kevin Keeney, a third generation family member running the quarry, who told us a little bit about the history of Keeney Sand & Stone. Watch this video to learn more about the quarry and see some of their aggregate equipment in action.

“Nothing substantial is built in this country that doesn’t start from a rock,” says Mike Johnson, president and CEO of the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association.

With that statement in mind, the NSSGA produced a video that emphasizes the importance of aggregates in the United States. Watch this video to learn about the role of aggregates in the nation, as well as statistics and facts about the aggregates industry.

Vulcan Materials announced the results for the third quarter ending September 30, with total revenues increasing 7 percent to $60 million and a gross profit increase of 31 percent at $50 million compared to last year’s third quarter.

Aggregate sales were up 15 percent to $689 million compared to the previous year’s third quarter. The increase can be attributed to volume growth across the company, with aggregates shipments increasing 12 percent. In addition, freight-adjusted sales price for aggregates increased 2 percent.

With the price improvement, as well as reductions in costs, the company experienced a 12 percent increase in gross profit per ton. The gross profit margin of the aggregates segment also improved 320 basis points over the third quarter.

The 13-ft. diameter Fisher Air Separator successfully removes unwanted fines from aggregate products, bringing otherwise rejected material into specification. Its ability to “dry” process materials and remove excess fines promotes a clean and efficient operation. The Fisher Air Separator can eliminate the need for wash plants and is an effective economic tool in areas where water is in limited supply. It is field-proven in abrasive and non-abrasive applications and has achieved successful separation of unwanted fines in limestone, granite, trap rock, basalt, silica, and sand and gravel applications.

fisherind.com

Mettler Toledo truck scale models VTS231 and VTC221 provide incredible reliability and accurate weighing in the aggregates industry. By combining the strength of an orthotropic weighbridge with the reliability of POWERCELL® PDX® load cells, both truck scales ensure years of trouble-free weighing even in the harshest environments and toughest applications. POWERCELL PDX load cells include proven and certified lightning protection, cell breach (damage) detection, accuracy compensation, easy calibration/diagnostics, elimination of junction boxes and more. Both models are backed by an industry-leading five-year warranty.

mt.com

Vulcan Materials Co. executives offered an optimistic outlook of their business’ future in interviews with Barron’s, which produced a feature article on one of the top U.S. aggregate producers.

According to Vulcan CEO Tom Hill, the company has “multiple years of double-digit top-line growth” ahead of it. In addition, Hill says aggregates pricing is gaining momentum. Vulcan has raised prices 22 percent since 2005, Barron’s reports.

John McPherson, Vulcan’s chief financial and strategy officer, adds that demand is “still more than 30 percent below 40-year trends.” McPherson expects Vulcan to exceed the prior cycle’s peak-demand price once demand normalizes, according to Barron’s.

In addition, Barron’s reports that Vulcan expects shipments to increase 8 percent this year, excluding acquisitions, and for prices to increase 6 percent. The company’s revenue could climb 12 percent.

Julia Lakes-Martinez, California chapter president of WIM,
teaches students how to make toothpaste out of calcium
carbonate and baking soda.

A mostly female organization educates the public on the mining and aggregate industries.

Few people are aware that toothpaste is made with the same mineral they walk on every day.

Members of Women in Mining (WIM), a national organization, use this fact as an educational tool for teaching students how to make their own toothpaste out of calcium carbonate and baking soda.

“‘If it can’t be grown, it has to be mined.’ That’s our motto,” says Julia Lakes-Martinez, California chapter president of WIM and environmental manager for the Southern California Materials Division at CalPortland.

Women in Mining was founded in 1972 in Denver. It aims to educate its members and the public about the mining and aggregate industries.

“The purpose is really to change peoples’ view or outlook on the mining industry and educate people on the importance of mining minerals and aggregates,” Lakes-Martinez says. “[We want to] change peoples’ negative view of the mining industry.”

Educating the public

Women in Mining has chapters throughout the United States, with locations in California, Colorado, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia.

Women in Mining’s California chapter, with some of its
members shown above, consists of 64 females and four males.

One of its main goals is to support students wanting to excel in the mining and aggregates industries. In 2014, the California chapter awarded $10,000 in scholarships to students studying mining-related fields, including geology, engineering and environmental studies.

“I would say about 50 percent of the money we raise goes directly into scholarships for college kids and high school kids,” says Stephen Tibbals, vice president of the Nevada chapter and senior account representative at Solenis.

More importantly, the organization focuses on eliminating the negative stigma that can be associated with mining and quarrying.
“In California, especially, it’s very difficult to overcome some of those preconceived ideas about mining and tearing up the earth and then leaving this big empty pit somewhere,” Lakes-Martinez says.

That’s why one of the organization’s main goals is to educate teachers and students.

“We really reach out to teachers,” says Darlene Bray, president of WIM National and environmental engineer at Cemex. “We help educate them and give them information about mining, which they can carry on in their classrooms.”

WIM’s California chapter often collaborates with the Mojave Environmental Education Consortium (MEEC) to conduct teacher workshops. They provide materials and instruct teachers on how to carry out aggregates-related activities.

In addition, members of the organization travel to schools to give presentations, conduct hands-on activities and carry out demonstrations. Making toothpaste is one of the organization’s most effective tools.

Christine Jones, environmental manager at Cemex, is a
member of Women in Mining’s California chapter.

“The kids were pretty much amazed that you can eat it as well as walk on it,” says Nancy Windus, sixth-grade science and math teacher at Temecula Middle School in California. “They were really engaged in what they were doing.”

It isn’t always easy, though.

Students typically associate the industry with blowing up mountains and destroying natural resources, says Lakes-Martinez, which is why the need to eliminate the negativity is dire.

“We need to educate them on how this really works, and [explain] that aggregate mines cannot be located out in the middle of nowhere,” Lakes-Martinez says. “They need to be close, where they will be used. We need aggregates to make all of the buildings and everything people want to build in their homes.”

Women in Mining

The negativity concerning the mining and aggregate industries isn’t the only stigma the organization tries to break. Being a minority in the aggregates industry has both its challenges and rewards.

“It’s a male-dominated industry,” Bray says. “There’s no doubt about that.”

According to the latest data by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in 2013, there were 441,846 men working in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries, compared to only 74,188 women.

Men vs. Women in the Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction Industries according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Women in Mining has helped disprove the notion that only men can work in the tough environments associated with the industry.

“At the time that I came into the mine industry, things were already changing, so I wasn’t the first woman to work in coal and cement for CalPortland, but I was like the fifth,” says Lakes-Martinez, who has also worked on the ready-mix and aggregates side for five years. “You really have to work to prove yourself.”

The organization isn’t limited to women, though. Men are welcome to join, and Paul Miller, operations manager of the ready-mix division at CalPortland, took advantage of the opportunity after his daughter expressed interest in the organization.

At workshops, teachers are taken on tours of mining
operations and provided with activity materials
for their students.

“They do a lot of outreach programs, and that’s part of the reason I liked it, and I know my daughter was interested in some of it,” he says.
It’s also changed his attitude on women working in the industry.

“I’ve always thought of it as a male-dominated society in this industry, but there are a lot more women in it in really high, important positions that I never would have thought were in it,” Miller says.

And, as the organization grows, it continues to affect the number of women working in mining and aggregates.

“You see women [working] in all phases [of the industry], and I think that’s increased fairly steadily,” Tibbals says, “We see a lot of girls that we gave scholarships to are now senior people in the industry.”

Members of the organization have seen this impact, and they hope to continue to break the negative stigmas associated with aggregates and mining, as well as influence women to work in the male-dominated industry.

“I don’t think it’s that the industry tries to exclude women at all,” Lakes-Martinez says. “I think women just need to be more interested in being involved.”

Take note

One of the organization’s main goals is to support students wanting to excel in the mining and aggregates industries.

For the aggregates industry, there is much to be optimistic about in the Spring of 2015. Martin Marietta and Vulcan Materials, the nation’s two largest producers, are reporting strong earnings and outlooks. The Producer Price Index shows that crushed stone, sand and gravel are fetching higher prices than ever. And our Pit & Quarry Aggregates Industry Index is flirting with the 300 level for the first time.

While I’ve been very skeptical in this space for any hopes of a long-term highway bill in recent years, it seems the tide might be turning. In a conversation with Mike Johnson, president and CEO of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, we both commented on what we referred to as the “noise” or “chatter” coming out of Washington regarding the need for an increase in infrastructure spending. It’s certainly at an increased volume, and not just from lobbying groups this time. Politicians in the White House and on both sides of the Congressional isle are calling for it. Washington knows the country needs this.

Still, there are challenges ahead.

In his NewsBriefs newsletter, author Ken Orski points out that the money needed to keep the federal transportation program funded at even just the going rate is substantial. “The Congressional Budget Office estimates that it would require an extra $13 billion each year just to maintain the program at the current spending level,” he says, noting that the Trust Fund shortfall is produced by a mismatch between a spending level of $53 billion per year and a revenue stream from the federal gas tax of only $40 billion per year.

“A six-year program,” Orski says, “would be faced with a shortfall requiring $78 billion in subsidies.”

An obvious solution to eliminating this mismatch would be to raise the federal gas tax, he adds, but a gasoline tax increase has been firmly ruled out both by the Republican House leadership and the White House. “Speaker Boehner thinks there just aren’t  enough votes in the House to pass it,” Orski says. “The administration is opposed because a gas tax increase would fall most heavily on those who can least afford it. Both parties cite public opinion surveys that consistently have shown a low level of popular support for a boost in the federal gas tax.”

With the current legislation set to expire at the end of May, the clock on a replacement bill is ticking.

Am Cast showcased some of its newest products at the 2015 AGG1 Aggregates Academy & Expo. Watch as Am Cast CEO Tomaso Veneroso provides an exclusive on some of the company’s latest equipment.

McCloskey International added Finkbiner Equipment to its network of distributors. Finkbiner, an equipment dealer based near Chicago, sells and leases wheel loaders, paving machines, milling machines, crushing equipment, screening equipment, trailers, excavators and material handling equipment.

Finkbiner serves customers in the road building, aggregates, excavation, demolition and material handling industries. Marty Ahrendt, Finkbiner president, says the company chose to become a McCloskey dealer to offer more track-mounted options to its customers.

Eriez’ new aggregate plant video animation shows how suspended magnets, magnetic head pulleys and metal detectors remove dangerous tramp ferrous and nonferrous from aggregate being conveyed. The video also depicts their mechanical and electromagnetic feeders operating in heavy-duty applications.

Click here to watch.

Am Cast, Inc. is proud to announce a revolutionary type of sand machine unlike anything available on today’s market. The “Rocky 600 V2 Transformer,” a reversible tertiary sand crusher, has been designed to transform all grain sizes, which are generally considered in aggregate production to be of “little interest,” into a commercially useable and valuable sand product. The Rocky can be fed with material ranging from 0-35 mm (0-1.375 in.) and transform this material into high value/ high yield (85-95 percent useable ASTM C-33 spec after one pass) sand product. This machine is capable of producing different types of sands used for ready-mixed concrete (ASTM C-33), self-compacting concrete, bituminous conglomerates, etc. The grain size of the sand is even programmable with an onboard motor inverter. Due to its innovative design, The Rocky promotes homogeneous wear on the impact surface of the hammers, which means less wear parts changes and longer crushing times.

AmCastOnline.com

Crisp Industries is pleased to announce the installation of wet frac sand plant 650 tph in the Midwest.

Crisp Industries Inc. is your complete source for aggregate processing and material handling equipment, service and replacement parts. We offer complete turnkey systems, plant flow design, structural design, fabrication, equipment selection and installation. Our American made structures are designed and fabricated in our Bridgeport, Texas, facility. We are distributors for Metso, BTI, Thor Global and Azfab. This allows us to offer a complete line of crushers, screening and material processing machinery. Crisp Industries is a top-quality builder of aggregate systems.We take pride in using the highest quality workmanship in all of our projects, while doing so in a timely manner and at a competitive price.

crispindustries.com

Major Wire Industries named Burch Materials & Supplies as its newest aggregates and mining screen media dealer.

Burch will now supply Major’s screen media solutions, including the FlexMat 3 Self-Cleaning Screen Media and OptimumWire Woven Wire, to its customers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.

“Major’s dedication to continuous product development and the supply of consistently high quality products will allow our customers to increase their production while reducing their plant operating costs and down time,” says Jeff Nelson, vice president and general manager of Burch. “We are very excited to have joined the Major team.”

Vulcan Materials Co. released its 2015 first quarter results, reporting a first-quarter loss of $39 million after reporting a profit in the same period one year earlier. Vulcan’s first quarter ended March 31.

Despite the loss, Vulcan reports its first-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $77 million. That’s a 97 percent increase from the prior year, with gross profit improving in all segments. Compared to 2014’s first quarter, total revenues increased $57 million to $631 million. In addition, total gross profit increased $44 million to $78 million. Aggregate freight-adjusted revenues increased $56 million to $380 million compared to the first quarter of 2014.

Vulcan reports gaining momentum in aggregates shipments, as well. The company reports that strong construction activity across all end-use markets drove the momentum. The states of Arizona, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia saw shipment growth greater than 10 percent on a same-store basis. Also, the freight-adjusted sales price for aggregates increased about 4 percent on a same-store basis, or 44 cents per ton, compared to the first quarter of 2014.

“Our local leadership teams continue to excel at balancing our core profit drivers: price for service, sales and production mix, and operating efficiency and leverage,” says Tom Hill, president and CEO of Vulcan. “Although demand for our products remains well below normal levels, the gradual recovery in construction activity continues across most of our markets. As a result of improving market conditions and our continued focus on internal profit improvements, both pricing and margins continue to expand. Looking ahead, we remain well positioned to serve our customers and to achieve strong earnings growth in 2015 and beyond.”